


Go Slow

by IncandescentAntelope



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Anxiety, Cat/Human Hybrids, Friends to Lovers, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Recovery, Sharing a Bed, Soft Soft Fluff, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:13:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27103261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IncandescentAntelope/pseuds/IncandescentAntelope
Summary: Viktor takes in an abandoned stray and gains more than he expected. Much more.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Comments: 40
Kudos: 173





	Go Slow

**Author's Note:**

> Hello loves, this one is a bit rough at the beginning, and if you would like to avoid potentially triggering content (brief, non descriptive mentions of kidnapping, abduction) I’ve marked that section at the beginning and end with ***. Take care of yourselves, darlings. Love you!

Viktor rolled into his back, basking in the afternoon sunshine that he had been sorely missing all winter. Yuuri was still curled up beside him, his chest rising and falling slowly, his tail wrapped loosely around his thigh. Their lives were slow and easy these days, the stress of moving away from Saint Petersburg and back to Hasetsu was finally behind them, and they settled into a new routine of long naps and languid afternoon lovemaking.

Yuuri was utter and complete perfection, his pointed black ears so expressive, even to Yuuri's detriment. His ears often gave away his intentions, his emotions when he felt the need to conceal them, perking up even when he feigned disinterest, laying flat against his head, indistinguishable from his inky black hair when he attempted to hide embarrassment or discomfort. 

Yuuri was so impossibly radiant, even when he staunchly fought Viktor’s compliments, his affections. Seeing the tiny smile on his lips as he slept was more reward than Viktor could have imagined for himself. It had been a long journey from the start, but one they were both glad to have taken, in hindsight. Things had been tense at the beginning, and Viktor shuddered at the memory of their first meeting.

Yuuri was rail-thin, _starving_ , when Viktor spotted him from the apartment balcony. He was dressed in little more than rags, threadbare shorts and a thin t-shirt, his features gaunt and exhausted as he slept on a neighbor’s back porch, hiding from the rain. His glasses barely stayed on his nose, they were so big and heavy on his too-thin features. 

*******

Viktor later learned that Yuuri had been abandoned by cruel, backward humans, who had kept felidae like Yuuri as _pets_. The same kind that kept hybrid human-animal folk and bred them, as if they had no pathos. The act had long been outlawed, but pocket breeders and illegal, back-alley traders continued the practice, selling hybrids to the wealthy at high prices.

Yuuri had been one such unlucky soul, kidnapped without a trace while learning abroad in America. Yuuri still had nightmares, still had panic attacks, still spiraled on bad days; Viktor was always there to help. Yuuri had been left to fend for himself on the streets, and whoever had abandoned him was lucky Viktor never found them.

*******

How someone could harbor such cruelty in their heart for another was beyond rationality, and Viktor tried not to imagine what kind of soulless wretch would do such an awful thing. Yuuri was startled by the tiniest sounds, unexpected touch. He had snapped at Viktor when he came too close for comfort, his hackles raised. He barely spoke, he barely slept, staying awake for days on end; he watched Viktor like he would hurt him if he fell asleep.

Viktor let him warm up to him slowly, nearly every moment of it was difficult; watching Yuuri shake while he slept, eat ravenously and hoard what he couldn’t finish. The bad habits, the survival mechanisms were hard broken, but Viktor didn’t give up. Giving Yuuri full reign over making his own meals, of bringing him along on trips to the grocery store, brought a new kind of peace into their lives, a new kind of calm in the severe curve of Yuuri’s spine. 

It was a small step. But watching Yuuri make the kinds of food that he loved… it was like watching him come to life. 

Viktor brushed a careful hand over Yuuri’s forehead, watching him sleep. It felt like eons ago that he couldn’t touch him without fearing a bite. He had been so small, so… _traumatized,_ he was barely Yuuri then. This Yuuri, the Yuuri he had become, sweet, stubborn and lovely Yuuri… was the sunshine that warmed Viktor’s previously dreary, gray days. 

Viktor’s hand strayed to the spot behind Yuuri’s left ear, rubbing gently and coaxing a sleepy purr from his partner. His voice was so beautiful, his laugh, his purr, all of it. Viktor could listen to Yuuri reading aloud for the rest of his life and be more than content. Yuuri’s ears twitched gently, bringing a smile to Viktor’s face. He was dreaming; he couldn’t wait to ask Yuuri what he had dreamt about. He loved listening to Yuuri tell him stories. 

Viktor remembered the first day Yuuri’s ears finally lifted, when Yuuri finally felt safe enough to breathe, to sleep regularly… the day they began to grow closer. It was a warm September morning, rain drizzling against the windows. Yuuri had refused to share the bed Viktor used, opting instead to sleep on the hard, uncomfortable couch, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He had always been so stubborn, refusing to let Viktor make his food, insisting he would help in the kitchen, that he could pull his weight, no matter how much Viktor insisted he was a guest. 

Viktor had found him, wrapped tight in a borrowed blanket, shaking like a leaf. Viktor could hear his muted sniffles, the desperate attempts to stay quiet, to stay out of way. But Viktor knew better. He moved slowly, his tail swishing side to side as he approached. His footfalls were deadened by the plush rug in the living room, but Yuuri still heard him. 

“Yuuri, what’s… are you alright?” Viktor asked softly, freezing where he was. Yuuri’s lip was quivering, his ears twitching, his eyes wet with tears. He had expected a hiss, to shuffle away from Viktor’s voice. But instead, Yuuri spoke.

“Nothing, go away.” Yuuri hissed, his voice breaking in a way that Viktor knew better than to ignore. He couldn’t step away, not when Yuuri had finally broken his silence. “I don’t need your help, you’ve done enough.”

“I haven’t.” Viktor said, sitting on the ground, his fluffy silver tail in his lap. Yuuri scowled and twisted back around, a sharp growl ripping from his throat as he did. Viktor tried not to be hurt by the rejection, leaning against the couch and resting his head against the cushion. “Yuuri.”

“Stop.” Yuuri hissed again, his voice wet, choked. Viktor’s heart leapt into his throat. “Just leave me alone, _please_.”

It broke Viktor’s heart to stand up and walk away, but he couldn’t push. Not against Yuuri’s will that way. He almost expected Yuuri to be gone when he returned, to have disappeared into the night when he woke from his afternoon nap. But when he emerged from the bedroom, Yuuri was still there, sitting cross-legged by the window. His eyes were closed, drinking in the sunshine as it began breaking through the clouds. 

His ears were up, facing forward, sleek and dark as ebony. Viktor froze, all the air in his lungs pulled out in a single moment. Viktor thought it was a trick of the light, water rolling down the window reflected on Yuuri’s face, but no, tears were spilling in wet, heavy drops down his cheeks. Yuuri sniffled, a shaky, tired thing, and Viktor hurried to the kitchen for tissues. 

Yuuri didn’t move an inch, holding perfectly still as Viktor approached from behind. He offered Yuuri a tissue quietly, waiting silently as Yuuri took it, dabbing at his eyes. Viktor didn’t say anything, didn’t push, didn’t pry. He simply waited, watching Yuuri’s ears, finally forward, finally signaling more than contempt, more than stress, anxiety. 

“Thank you.” Yuuri said softly, his voice hoarse from the tears. 

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you want.” Viktor replied, sitting carefully beside Yuuri, his tail curling around Yuuri’s back in a soothing, cautious movement that he had been taught only felidae families and clans did. Families did this, partners did this. Yuuri stiffened, but eased into the sensation slowly. “I mean it. I’ll sleep on the couch for a while, your back must hurt.”

“No, no, you… you don’t have to do that.” Yuuri stammered. 

“Please, Yuuri. Let me do this for you.” Viktor repeated. “You need it much more than I do.”

Yuuri bit his lip, the point of one canine digging into his skin. There was so much confusion, so much conflict brewing behind his eyes, and Viktor could see it. He wanted to hold him more than anything. There was a long silence, punctuated only by the rain pattering against the window. 

“We… we can share.” Yuuri whispered.

With a shocked sigh, Viktor blinked at Yuuri, wide-eyed. “Are you sure?”

Yuuri nodded carefully, his tail flicking back and forth on the floor before twining with Viktor’s again. “I’m. I’m sure.”

The first night, Yuuri slept on top of the covers, curled around himself in a tight curve. Viktor wanted to reach out and soothe him when he began to shake, but he held back and waited. Yuuri rolled onto his other side, eyes wide open with fear. 

“Viktor?” Yuuri croaked, barely louder than a mewl. 

“Yuuri?” Viktor answered quietly, “Are you alright?” 

Yuuri sniffed, a small whine preceding a choked sob. “It’s… it’s dark.” Viktor didn’t hesitate in turning on the lamp on the bedside table. 

“Okay, is that better?” Yuuri nodded, rubbing away tears. “Should we turn on your lamp too?” Viktor asked, his words falling from his mouth without his control as Yuuri moved closer, sliding under the duvet. 

“Better.” Yuuri said simply, pulling up the white blanket up to his chin. 

“Good,” Viktor breathed, watching Yuuri’s long, dark lashes flutter in the golden lamplight. “Good.” He repeated, to no one in particular. They slept with the lamp on after that, though Viktor didn’t do much sleeping. Watching Yuuri through the night was an artform, and learning how to ease Yuuri out of his panic attacks was too. 

Viktor held Yuuri for the first time on one such night, that Yuuri woke in the middle of the night, thrashing and screaming words Viktor didn’t understand. He had sat bolt-upright in bed, shocking Viktor out of sleep; Yuuri hissed and cowered away from him, and in a moment, Yuuri was the same person Viktor had found a few months ago, starving and alone on the neighbor’s back porch. 

Panic had gripped them both and Viktor didn’t think, he simply wrapped Yuuri in his arms and waited. He still felt so thin, he trembled like he was freezing. Viktor had held him all through the night, finally drifting to sleep with the scent of Yuuri’s hair in his nose. That was Viktor’s favorite smell, even now. 

Those first days were spent earning Yuuri’s trust and showing that he wouldn’t abandon him, as he had been expecting Viktor would. It was slow moving, Yuuri told his story in fragments over breakfast, lying on the couch, his head tentatively resting in Viktor’s lap. There was always more for Yuuri to share, the unspoken wants, fears, hanging over Yuuri’s head like a storm cloud. 

On a sleepy morning, Yuuri admitted one of these darker fears, held fast in Viktor’s arms after a long night full of terrible dreams. 

“I thought you’d throw me out,” Yuuri whispered when Viktor encouraged him to share his nightmares. “I dreamed that you had been lying, that you were just waiting for a reason to abandon me.”

Viktor’s heart shattered again, and he held Yuuri close. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” They were barely more than friends, then, but what kind of friends shared a bed every night? What kind of friends cooked dinner together, cuddled and watched movies at night?

Maybe they weren’t friends at all, Viktor considered. Maybe they were more. Yuuri’s eyes shone behind his glasses, warm and inviting as melted chocolate. He made a small, questioning sound, pulling Viktor’s attention back to his mouth. 

“But why?” Yuuri asked, his mouth a small, downturned frown.

"I…” Viktor began, feeling his cheeks heat. He was so beautiful, so tender… “I just want to help you. I don't want anything from you."

"That doesn't make any sense to me.” Yuuri pleaded, rubbing at his eyes under his glasses. “I... I don't understand."

"I want to keep meeting you where you are,” Viktor answered, watching Yuuri’s ears flick one way then another, his tail brushing against Viktor’s thighs. “No matter what." The thought had been planted then, and it was increasingly difficult to uproot. Nothing Viktor did to change course worked, he continued to fall, and fall hard for Yuuri. It ached in his chest, but the moments Yuuri allowed him close enough to touch, soothed the ache like a balm. 

There were still so many things that made Yuuri anxious, the postman knocking too loudly, the neighbors arguing. Viktor’s phone, when it vibrated on the table. They pieced things together slowly, fitting Yuuri’s life back together gently. A new phone to replace the one that had been stolen, more clothing that fit him comfortably, a new pillow to hold while he slept. A new pair of glasses when Viktor noticed Yuuri squinting to read, his old ones years outdated. 

The new frames were identical to Yuuri’s old ones, blue frames that contrasted his eyes beautifully. Yuuri was barely without them after that, fighting Viktor’s gentle reminders that he didn’t need to wear them in the shower, or to bed. The unfortunate snap came one morning, when Yuuri sat up in bed, his glasses having fallen off his face during the night. 

Viktor woke to tears, to Yuuri scrambling to fit them back together. 

“Yuuri, Yuuri, it’s alright,” he tried to assure him, but Yuuri wailed louder, pulling out of Viktor’s embrace. 

“No, it’s not! You bought them,” Yuuri sobbed, his voice choked by tears. “You spent money on me, and I broke them.”

“Yuuri. They’re glasses. You need them to see.” Viktor said plainly, pulling the snapped glasses from Yuuri’s hands and setting them aside. “I can’t let you walk around not being able to see when I can help.” Yuuri was quiet for a moment, leaning into Viktor’s chest and shuddering through another sob. “Let’s go get a new pair. Those frames looked beautiful on you.”

Viktor hadn’t intended to let the praise slip through, but he didn’t regret the smile it earned him. Yuuri was much easier convinced to take them off when they fell into bed that night, but he still bit his lip, hesitating. Viktor slid closer than they had ever been, nearly nose to nose. 

“Here. You can still see me.” Viktor whispered, his hands twitching under the covers. He wanted to reach out and hold him so badly it hurt. “Is this okay?”

Yuuri nodded, barely moving his head. "I like this," he whispered, his eyes focusing on Viktor's features in the lamplight. "You can… turn off the light. Just don't leave."

“I won’t,” Viktor sighed, a heavy, wet thing that felt like relief. "I promise, I won’t. I never will." Viktor moved carefully, flicking the lamp off, sending them into darkness. Yuuri gasped, a sudden sound that felt so much louder than it was; Viktor felt Yuuri flinch, rustling the blankets. “Yuuri?”

Yuuri didn’t answer, simply curled into Viktor’s arms, pressing his cheek against his chest. Viktor didn’t sleep much that night, but Yuuri slept through it completely, for the first time since they met. 

From there, things blossomed in ways Viktor had only imagined. Yuuri sought him out for comfort, for touch, more often than not. He began to ask more questions about the city, and they began to venture out into the world beyond the apartment together. The walks were short at first, just around the block, but soon, it was coffee dates at the cafe down the road, it was getting dinner, it was going to the movie theater and watching a romantic comedy. 

Viktor couldn’t help but look Yuuri’s way when the two leads shared a kiss. When he stole a glance, he found Yuuri’s eyes trained on him, stealing the glance right back. He flushed and looked away, shifting in the comfy theater chair and sipping from the sugary slush Yuuri had asked for. 

When their night came to an end, Yuuri slotted himself against Viktor in bed as he had done for the past few weeks. His soft sleep shirt was one of Viktor’s, and it made him shiver as their chests pressed together. Viktor repeated their usual routine of sliding Yuuri’s glasses off his nose and setting them on the bedside table, turning out the lamp and pressing his nose to Yuuri’s. 

It happened faster than Viktor could blink. Yuuri closed the distance between them, their lips brushing for one fraction of a moment. A million thoughts and worries crossed his mind, fears that Yuuri was doing this out of some obligation, or that Viktor expected it. 

“Yuuri,” Viktor began, at the same time that Yuuri apologized with a squeak. 

“I’m sorry, I… I should have asked.” Yuuri fumbled for his words in the dark, the shine of his mahogany eyes catching the city lights outside their curtained window. Viktor swallowed his fear.

“I would have said yes.” Viktor breathed. “Ask me.”

Yuuri licked his lips, in a way that drew Viktor in like gravity. “Can I kiss you?” he asked, and Viktor hummed his yes, letting Yuuri move closer again. Viktor kissed him back, holding Yuuri’s round, soft cheeks in both of his hands. 

A quiet, mewling yawn pulled Viktor back to their living room floor, to a pile of pillows and futon cushions piled up to Yuuri’s liking. Viktor watched as Yuuri’s amber eyes fluttered open, heavy with sleep. Yuuri hummed a wordless question, yawning again and arching his back.

"Mmm, don't mind me," Viktor purred, propping himself up on one elbow, smiling at his mate. Yuuri laughed, a throaty thing colored by a sleepy purr. 

"I always mind you, Vitya," Yuuri said, stretching his back in a beautiful, sinfully attractive arch. "I had a dream about you."

Viktor's ears perked up. Yuuri's pleasant dreams were wonderful things, when the nightmares of street life gave him reprieve. You did?" Viktor asked, watching as Yuuri ran his hand through his hair, scratching gently behind his ears before curling against Viktor again.

"Mhm, about the first time we met… and how sweet you were to me, even though I hissed at you." Yuuri flushed at the memory. Viktor smiled and nuzzled gently into Yuuri's neck, purring when his mate bared his throat, silently asking for more kisses, to be scented, to be cared for… and Viktor would never refuse. Yuuri was warm, still pliant and loose from his nap, and Viktor pulled him into his lap easily, nuzzling against his cheek as Yuuri pressed a kiss to his forehead. 

"I love you, Vitya," Yuuri purred, wrapping himself around Viktor in a warm tangle of limbs, his tail swishing happily against Viktor's thigh. 

"I love you too, Yuuri." Viktor breathed, laying back down in their messy pile of blankets and pillows, bare skin warmed by the lazy afternoon sun.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! kudos and comments always appreciated. i love you all, stay safe, stay healthy and VOTE
> 
> <3 ia  
> [ Twitter](https://twitter.com/ia_theauthor) | [Tumblr](https://incandescentantelope.tumblr.com)


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